Slashdot Mirror
India Launches World's First Stereo Imaging Satellite
sgups writes "India will tomorrow inaugurate a new launch pad at its Satish Dhawan space port near Chennai, on the south-east coast, by putting the world's first stereographic mapping satellite into orbit.
The most innovative feature of the 1.6-tonne Cartosat-1 is its pair of cameras, which will give stereo images of the earth's surface that can distinguish features down to 2.5 metres across. They will directly generate three-dimensional maps that have until now been achievable only indirectly, by combining data from a large number of satellite passes over the same place.
"Such a stereographic imaging system does not exist in the civil sector anywhere else," says Mr Nair, chairman of the Bangalore-based Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). "It will give information about heights that will be very useful in applications such as planning power lines."
Cartosat-1 will join what is already the world's largest cluster of non-military remote sensing satellites. Six Indian spacecraft are already observing the earth with a wide range of instruments."
But HIFI stereo, which means it has the highest level of fidelity available. It also sports an 8-track.
...will be off-shored to China.
Religion is for people afraid of going to hell.
crap we hadn't thought of that..
-India
I knew they were big into offshoring but...
Ever known an engineer to use a simple strategy when a complex one would suffice?
Any ham-radio enthusiast can make one of those. A stereographic mapping satellite, on the other hand, is engineer-grade.
Any truth to the rumor that they're going to oursource their call center to a US firm?
I'm kidding!
"If god did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him" --Voltaire
... hopefully with Dolby!
--- Attorneys Assisting Citizen-Soldiers & Families -
See who keeps sneaking their $&^%@ trash into your can.
At 2.5 meter resolution? You must have some FAT neighbors.
See what I've been reading.
If they could only get a little better resolution, I can imagine they could pull in some cash by taking pictures of nude beaches. You would think that by now the first thought with new tech would be, "how can I use this for porn?"
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
Mmm, check out that white pixel laying on the sand colored pixel. Boy, would I like to anti-alias her! Assuming it is a her, and not a surfboard or a trashbag or something. Eh, who am I kidding? I'm not that picky.